Atletico Madrid has prepared for and evolve of the post-koke resurreccion era, whereby the club captain enters the twilight of his career. Although they may not be the same players in terms of what they offer to the team, Los Rojiblancos has an academy talent to take over the heart and soul of their midfield – and he is there to stay.
According to the latest report from Matteo Moretto about relevant, that has revealed that Pablo Barrios will sign a new contract with Atletico Madrid until 2030. The 21-year-old, for the first time covered by Spain this season this season has currently received a deal until 2028, but undoubtedly received a considerable salary bump that reflects his status as a regular in the team. Earlier this season interest from Bayern Munich had been reported, but it seemed that Barrios would leave his boys' club.
This season, Barrios made 38 performances for Atletico, scoring once and assisting three times for Los Rojiblancos. The most important thing is that Barrios started more than 70% of their League matches and played more than 75% of their minutes in the competition. Clear indications that Barrios claimed as a fixture for Simeone this season.
Barrios missed a month of action with a hamstring injury in September and had a dip in shape in early 2025, sent twice in the space of a month, but generally has energy, quality delivered to pressure and is an important part of their pressure in the middle of the field.
The search for a traditional number five as it would be in Argentina, however, continues. Koke had re -invented herself as the player who took the ball out of the defense, but while his legs decrease, the feeling is that the future of Atletico's midfield requires someone next to Barrios to direct things. Los Colchoneros is linked to a return for Arsenal -midfielder Thomas Partey, the last player Simeone felt at ease in that role for Koke.